New County Records and Other Data Since 1996

Rana sylvatica Le Conte - Wood Frog

Since publication of Atlas of Amphibians in Tennessee (Redmond, W. H. and A. F. Scott. 1996. The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN. 94 pp.), several applicable taxonomic and nomenclatural changes and numerous reports of new county records have appeared in the literature. Comments, accompanied by cited references, on the taxonomic and nomenclatural changes plus an updated distribution map and bibliographical information on new county records as they pertain to Rana sylvatica follow:

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Changes

The genus Rana was split by Frost et al. (2006), and all eastern North American ranid species placed in the genus Lithobates. In the latest list of scientific and standard English names of the frogs of North America north of Mexico (Frost et al. 2017), the binomial for the Southern Leopard Frog is given as Lithobates sylvaticus.

Literature Cited:

Frost, D. R., T. Grant, J.Faivovich, R. H. Bain, A. Haas, C. F. B. Haddad, R. O. De S�, A. Channing, M. Wilkinson, S. C. Donnellan, C. J. Raxworthy, J. A. Campbell, B. L. Blotto, P. Moler, R. C. Drewes, R. A. Nussbaum, J. D. Lynch, D. M.. Green, W. C. Wheeler. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of natural History 297: 1�370.

Frost, D. R., E. M. Lemmon, R. W. McDiarmid, and J. R. Mendelson III. 2017. Anura: Frogs.  IN B. I. Crother (ed.), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North American North of Mexico, With Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-102.

Updated Distribution Map
(Click on the Map for an Enlarged View)

Update to Lithobates sylvatica

 Literature Containing New County Records

 Anderson County 

Anonymous. No date. Frogs of Anderson County, TN. Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization (CRESO). 8 pp. 

Although not stated in this publication, this is the first published report of the occurrence of Lithobates sylvatica in Anderson County, TN.

Cannon County

Corser, J. D.  2008.  The Cumberland Plateau disjunct paradox and the biogeography and conservation of pond-breeding amphibians.  American Midland Naturalist 159:498-503.

Claiborne County

Daniels, S. D., S. A. Dykes and R. L. P. Wyatt. 2012. New amphibian and reptile county records for eight counties in East Tennessee, USA.  Herpetol. Rev. 43:313-315.

Grundy County

Samoray, S. T. and K. J. Regester. 2001. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 32: 190-191.

Houston and Humphreys Counties

          Ennen, J. and N. Parker.  2004.  Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica.  Herpetol. Rev. 35:407.

Jackson County

Nanjappa, P. and L. Leininger. 2000. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 31:51.

Knox County

Jacobi, C. B., C. Frost, and M. J. Gray. 2018. Geographic distribution. Lithobates sylvaticus. Herpetological Review 49:282.

Marion County 

Corser, J. D.  2008.  The Cumberland Plateau disjunct paradox and the biogeography and conservation of pond-breeding amphibians.  American Midland Naturalist 159:498-503.

Pickett and Scott Counties

Campbell, T. S. 2002. New records for amphibians in the Big South Fork region of Tennessee. Herpetol. Rev. 33:230-231.

Union County 

Thurman, W. M., J. R. Ennen, and J. M. Davenport.  2006.  Geographic distribution:  Rana sylvatica.  Herpetol. Rev. 37:490.

Van Buren County 

Brown, M. L.  2009.  Geographic distribution:  Lithobates sylvaticus.  Herpetol. Rev. 40:362.